Playing With Fire
by Pledgling
Summary: Percy and Annabeth go on an adventure together, fighting mysterious creatures which are identified by Annabeth's nifty Gnome buddy, Robbie. However, Percy and Annabeth's relationship grows more and more. What ensues? Rated M.
1. Playing with Fire

Percy watched as Annabeth flew around the store, picking things here and there for home. Sally Blofis asked Percy and her to buy some body wash, deodorant, and a few other things. Percy, however, sucked at buying things because he could only watch Annabeth run around the store, her hair flying.

She finally caught up to him and he took a hand out of his pocket, twirling a strand of her hair on his finger. "You look beautiful."

Annabeth rose an eyebrow at him. "You know I asked you a question, right?"

Percy's eyebrows furrowed. "Sorry."

She snorted. "Yep, you're still same old Seaweed Brain." She shook her head and kissed him tenderly on the nose and he smiled softly.

"And you're the same know-it-all. Are we done, here?"

"Are you rushing to get back home, Mister?"

Percy felt a small rush flow through him and he watched Annabeth's eyes darken. "It's happening again."

For the past few months, Percy had gotten this uncontrollable urge to just touch Annabeth and be extremely close to her. At first, she obliged, but lately she's been thinking a bit of other things, only making Percy want her more. It wasn't like he wanted to go all the way, he just wanted to touch her and have her touch him back.

Her eyes glistened then and she snatched his wrist, dragging him to the back of the store and she kissed him. However, before he could grab her around the waist, she pulled away.

"Annabeth… " he whispered.

"Good things come to those who wait," she advised him quietly.

He growled a bit and wrapped his hand around her waist regardless. "I have ADHD. I _do not_ like waiting, thank you."

She laughed and pressed her nose to his, her eyelids drooping a bit. "I was sort of hoping you'd say that…"

He breathed out slowly before pressing his lips to hers again. He slowly pulled away and dove right back in, Annabeth perfectly ready. He kissed her slowly and carefully, wanting to make this moment last, but a soft cough made them push each other away.

It was a mother, carrying a small child, probably around six-years old and he looked up at them, his young eyes wide. "Mommy, they were kissing."

"Yes, dear." She eyed them suspiciously, frowning with disapproval.

"Mommy, I want to do that with Gertrude. She's really pretty, Mommy!" the boy said.

"No, Gertrude is much older than you and your _cousin_. You can't do that, Timothy." She quickly dragged her son to the bathrooms, which were right behind Percy and Annabeth. Her voice got quieter as she got farther away.

Once they were out of earshot, Annabeth giggled. "I've seen lots of kids do that, go after their cousins."

Percy chuckled a bit and put his hands in his pockets, walking to the counter with Annabeth. They rang their stuff, but Percy didn't pay attention much. He looked away from Annabeth so he wouldn't stare at her longingly. Then they walked to the car, which she drove (which is for the best, he assumed).

She turned on the car, but took her hands off the steering wheel. "Gods, how dim-witted are you?" she muttered, looking out of the car.

Percy looked at her, shocked. "What?"

"Look in the bag."

He blinked and paused for a second, puzzled before he dove under his seat and grabbed the bag. He opened it to see body wash, deodorant, shampoo, and… a box of condoms. He froze before looking up at her, in even further shock.

"You don't think I didn't notice it was happening again? I mean, the fact that you just stood there and watched me was a complete give-away."

"Annabeth, I don't want to do this. Not yet."

She watched him put the bag down and she fixed him with stern eyes. "Don't tell me you haven't been thinking about it."

"Annabeth…" His voice was full of longing and he watched as her eyes darkened a bit, as they always did whenever he said her name like so.

She laid a hand on his cheek gently and leaned in, pressing her lips to his not so softly this time. "I want it… I want you, Percy."

He felt as if his body were going to explode. It suddenly got hot in the car and he fumbled with the AC vents, trying to get direct their flow onto him, but they weren't on and Annabeth smiled. "Someone's feeling the heat?"

Percy swallowed and kissed her, licking her bottom lip very slowly. "You're torturing me, you know." His voice was hoarse and she licked his bottom lip back before sitting back in her seat and looking out of the windshield again.

"It's like playing with fire," she said, "torturing you. I don't know what you're going to do next."

"I think you and the Gods know what I'm going to do next," he murmured.

She giggled and put the car into reverse, pulling out of the store's parking lot. "Yes, I certainly do."

**Sorry, I got uber bored and decided to put up this. I've just been getting a bit ticked over how there's these stupid fanfics out there and they suck potatoes. Not meaning to be brash, but it just makes things feel awkward. I'm not one of those people who like reading how two people fuck each other into oblivion. I'm up with some sex, but I like it to be romantic, you know? Anyway, I hope this was romantic. :P And a bit funny, too.**


	2. Exclusive

And Chapter Two is up! Even though I got two reviews, they made me warm and fuzzy and I decided to continue. A bit more fluff in here, but, eh. I think I did pretty well for not reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians for a year! ): Anyway, I need to get my hands on The Lost Hero and read it, but dad's making me read Dragonlance (which isn't a bad series). But, anyway, hope you enjoy!

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Percy set the box of condoms down into the bag, wracking his brain to figure out where to put it and hide it from his mom.

"The glove box, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth snickered.

Percy glanced at her, grinned slightly, and shoved the box into the compartment. "I still don't get why you bought those," he muttered. "Just because I have these episodes doesn't mean I can't control myself.

"They're not for you," she whispered, and she glanced at him meaningfully. "They're for me."

Percy turned towards her and raised an eyebrow, saying nothing. She sighed, her hands tightening on the wheel.

"The reason I haven't been allowing you… incredibly close as usual is because I've been… losing control."

Annabeth admitting something wrong was absolutely ridiculous. He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Annabeth?"

She smiled softly, but kept her keen eyes on the road as always. "We're in a relationship, are we not?" Her grip on the wheel loosened and she relaxed in her chair. Percy watched her face before he looked to the road himself. "I don't know about you, but I'm all up for an honest relationship."

"I never thought we were exclusive," Percy admitted, looking out the window and he could feel her eyes on him for a moment.

"We aren't. Just in a relationship. We can be girlfriend and boyfriend without having sex."

"Hmm, we can?" Percy inquired, busying himself with a loose thread on his shirt. "I thought sex was all the rage."

They pulled into the parking lot of Sally and Paul Blofis, but neither of them left the car.

"I thought you didn't want sex," she whispered and she turned her head to look at him.

Percy smiled gently. "I don't," he said.

Annabeth frowned. "Well, what?" she demanded.

Percy loved to confuse her. It didn't happen often, which made it the best thing for him. The way her eyebrows furrowed, her cheeks flared and her eyes bore into him. He loved all of it and he turned to watch her.

"What do you want?"

Percy opened the car door and grabbed the bag. "I want you, I don't want sex. It's just a three-letter word that means nothing. But you… That's the _right_ three-letter word." He then closed the car door and walked up to the house that Paul had got the money for—miraculously—and rang the doorbell.

"One moment!" a muffled voice yelled inside. He heard the slam of a car door and Annabeth came up to stand next to him.

"I hate you sometimes," she muttered. "But that makes you all the more loveable."

He was about to kiss her when Sally Blofis opened the door. She smiled at Percy and Annabeth.

"Hello," she said. "Percy, Annabeth, please come in."

Percy smiled and walked inside, smelling his mother's familiar scent, without the musky odor of Smelly Gabe. He was incredibly glad Smelly Gabe was turned into a statue. Paul seemed a lot better than Smelly Gabe.

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Sally inquired.

She shut the door quietly behind them and took the bag from Percy. "Thanks," she said and walked down the hall to put the bag into the living room.

"Percy!" Paul walked in and shook his hand. "Is it bad we have to make you get us things from a store in order to see us? It's been a few months."

Percy laughed lightly. "Yeah, my bad. Been caught up with… life, I guess." He glanced at his mother and there was a strand of understanding between them. Percy was trying his best to keep his Demi-God side out of his life again. He felt as if he had grown too old for the quests, though the thrill of them never expired. Annabeth felt the same way, more or less—she just hated the danger they ensued.

"God, how old are you now?" Paul asked.

"Twenty?" Percy guessed.

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth muttered. "He's twenty-one. Kid can't even get his age right."

Paul glanced between them before sitting down at the table. Percy sat himself and Annabeth swiftly sat next to him. "I made spaghetti. Hope no one minds."

"Thank you, Mrs. Blofis," Annabeth said politely.

Percy got his food, but didn't have much the appetite. He was ready to go to his own home and—hopefully—have Annabeth stay. But his train of thought was broken when Sally asked a question:

"So, what's been going on between you two?"

Percy sat up and raised an eyebrow at his mother. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you two seem to hang with each other a lot, no?" She swirled some spaghetti and ate it.

Percy coughed and sat back in his chair. "Well, yeah. But then there's Grover. He comes over occasionally, but I don't see him as often as I used to. Tyson calls sometimes."

Sally nodded, but Annabeth stayed unusually quiet.

"How's it been for you, Annabeth?" his mother asked.

She looked up at Sally. "Nothing much. I got a job offer."

Percy blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Did you?" She glanced at him, but busied herself with chasing the noodles on her plate with her fork before setting it down.

"Yes. I got a job offer to help build a monument in Central Park. They want a miniature version of a Victorian house."

Percy blinked again and he smiled. "You never told me this!" he whispered hastily to her.

"Never found the right time between all the kissing," she muttered under her breath and Percy snickered.

Sally smiled brightly. "That's awesome! When does it start?"

"A few weeks from now, I have the plans pretty much done for now. Just need to get the supplies. They want it to be child-proof so the kids can run around in it and see what it was like in the Victorian age."

Percy felt a surge of pride for Annabeth. "Still abashed you didn't tell me."

"And I'm still _abashed_ you have a wide vocabulary," she responded sarcastically.

"How rude," he said.

"Just making innocent fun."

The dinner went on with jokes and laugher from the four of them. But time wasn't on their sides, making Percy leave the house before eleven at night could strike. Annabeth followed him, decreeing that she needed a ride home herself. Sally and Paul wished them good night and good bye for now and they were off to the car.

"You need a ride home? You're driving," Percy said, sitting into the car and buckling his seatbelt.

"Well, I wanted to leave, alright? I have important business."

She turned on the car, but before she could pull out of the parking lot, he took her wrist lightly.

"Annabeth…" he whispered. Once again, her eyes darkened and it only fed the flood that hungered inside of him.

"Not now," she whispered softly, looking at him.

"Yes now," he muttered, closing the distance between them and pressing his lips to hers. She instantly reacted, but instead of reinforcing her 'no' statement, she crawled across the car and into his seat, sitting on his lap. "Hello…" he whispered, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Percy…" she said quietly and he sucked in a breath. "Percy, Percy." He closed his eyes, listening to her voice and her hands slowly ran up and down his back, before moving under his shirt. As her hands moved up, her fingers ghosted over his Achilles' heel and his body seized up, gripping her to him much tighter than before. He squeezed his eyes shut as a thrill rolled through his body and a soft moan came from him. Annabeth froze herself. "You just moaned," she laughed gently.

Percy found himself at a loss for breath. "You touched it," he muttered, his voice cracking a bit.

"I touched what?" she asked, running her hands under his shirt and she touched it again, receiving the same action, but Percy this time dug his fingers into her hips.

"Touched… it…" he muttered, finding it hard to think right now.

"I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about. You should really clarify."

She was about to touch the spot again when he reached behind her and took her hands, putting them in front of her chest. "You're not helping my situation, Annabeth," he groaned.

She smiled and ghosted her lips on his. "I know," she whispered, moving a hand to stroke his cheek. "How does it feel when I do that?" The curious, curious Annabeth…

"Like a million hands are touching me at once," he muttered.

"That doesn't sound sexual."

His fingers tightened around her wrists, his eyes opening to look at hers. "What your doing doesn't sound sexual," he replied, using the same tone she did.

"Hmmmm," she hummed, dipping her head down to his neck and she kissed it softly.

_Gods,_ he muttered. _She's going to be the death of me…_

Somehow, her hands broke free of his grasp and she rubbed his shoulders, continuing to kiss his neck. "We are in front of my mother's house," he whispered, but she ignored him. "I mean, my mother's and my step-dad's house," he continued. She still ignored him. "I mean…"

"Shut up, will you?" she snapped. "Your mindless babbling is really ruining this."

"And you say we're not exclusive…" he groaned.

"We aren't."

"Are we?"

Annabeth Chase went silent and then she opened her mouth. "We are," she whispered. Her fingers moved to the spot again, but instead of caressing it gently, she dug her fingers into the heel and he arched his back, moaning louder than before, his heart skipping several beats. He found himself panting afterwards, watching her with loving eyes.

"We are," he agreed hoarsely and she smiled before hopping off of him.

"I'm going to get you back."

"Of course you are," she giggled. "It's like playing with fire."


	3. Shards of Glass

Aaaannnddd now Chapter Three is up! I honestly didn't expect to get so engrossed with this, but.. Meh. People are going to read this and go, "Alright, about them in a store… WHAT THE HECK? THERE IS A PLOT, HERE!" Yes, the plot thickens in here! I also had a lot of research for this one. O_o I actually have quotes from the books, just to make it feel closer to the series and not like a little side-note, ya know? Sometimes, for some stories, I feel like you could just add names like "Bill" and "Jill" and the story would still make sense, since they don't include actual elements from the actual books… Anyway, this is me ranting. Most people don't read these things D: Nurr.

PS: You all are seriously confused! :P I'm not sad for the lack of reviews, I'm happy. ^^ I love my reviews, no matter how little or how large they are. It's nice to know the ones that DO review are nice, sweet, and I love you all! I hope you guys like my story :) You make me all warm and fuzzy inside!

PPS: If there are any typos… ignore them. I type fast and I hate rereading my work because I always end up deleting it and saying, "THIS SUCKS!" (I'm hard on myself, no worries) Sooo… Yes. :)

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As Annabeth drove to Percy's apartment, the car ride was incredibly silent. Percy was recalling the feelings he felt when Annabeth touched his Achilles' heel. He never knew it would feel like _that_. He rubbed the spot, but got no such feeling. How did Annabeth know that would happen…? Well, she was _Annabeth_, she knew about everything. Daughter of Athena, the Goddess of knowledge and skilled warfare.

And that made Percy think about the Gods. Poseidon was his real father, who Athena hated… Daughter of Athena in love with the son of Poseidon… The thought of it made his stomach churn and he looked out of the window, the black outside incredibly thick. He squinted his eyes as something fluttered behind the darkness.

"Annabeth—" he began, but then the car lurched.

Annabeth screamed as the car flipped around, a chaos of noise, dents, and incredible pressure. He gritted his teeth as the car finally came to a stop.

"What was _that?_" Annabeth demanded, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She had clutched the wheel incredibly tightly and her knuckles were snow white. The car was right side up, but Percy had to duck in order to not hit his head on the dented car roof.

"I don't know," he whispered. He found it very odd how he could be so calm in these situations. He slowly got out of the car, peering into the darkness. The car, sadly, broke down and the headlights had flickered off. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, but it was too late. The dark object had disappeared. He looked around and frowned. "There's nothing here…" he muttered.

Annabeth crawled out of the car and she let out a strangled yelp. Percy was immediately at her side. "What happened?" he demanded.

She glanced at him and held out her leg. Shards of glass were deep inside of her leg and blood rolled down onto her shoe. Alarm ran through his whole body and he knelt down, slowly picking out the shards of glass. She let out small whimpers as she did and he frowned deeply. He had seen Annabeth in pain, but the worst time was when she was stabbed by Evan, who tried to stab him in his Achilles' heel. She saved his life, almost at the cost of his own and any time she got bad wounds, it recalled those horrible memories.

He picked her up and she frowned at him. "I can walk," she said softly.

"I'm not going to let you," he growled. He walked on the road, eyes peeled for the dark object, but there was nothing. He sighed, wanting to hurt it for what it did to Annabeth. Then he felt her hand on his cheek.

"We going… home?" she whispered.

"You can't even speak proper English. But yes, we are." He smiled at her as best as he could and walked her just the few remainder blocks to his apartment. He walked up the stairs, still carrying her and she opened the door for him. He walked inside and put her down, closing the door and turning on the lights.

His apartment was nothing special; he recently got it, so there was no special decoration, yet. The walls were white and there was just a few pieces of furniture. It was an open floor plan, where you entered at the living room. There was a blue couch and a small TV on a cabinet he found. As you walked down the room, the kitchen opened up to the right. The cabinetry was a dark mahogany and the countertops were a tan granite with green mixed into it. The black splash was an Italian style tile. Annabeth always came over to help build his apartment whenever she had the time. To the left of the kitchen was the dining room, which was very small. Farther to the left was a hallway that led to his bedroom and a bathroom.

He walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet to grab the First Aid kit. He walked quickly back to Annabeth, who had her eyes closed and she looked oddly relaxed. He opened the kit and took out a packet of ambrosia. The liquid was golden and thick as he poured the liquid into a glass and handed it to her. She drank it, her face brightening as she did. He remembered ambrosia—it tasted like iced apple juice with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry (copyright of Rick Riordan). He didn't know what it tasted like for Annabeth, but he hoped it was something she absolutely loved.

He looked down at her leg and smiled as her leg was healed. He ran his hand on the smooth skin she looked at him before closing her eyes. "Percy," she whispered.

"Hmm?" He lightly traced designs on her fingers, mostly of the delta symbol, where Annabeth was able to unlock her true potential of what she wanted to do.

"Thank you."

He looked up at her and laughed quietly. "You're welcome, Annabeth." He got up, patting her leg, and sat next to her, propping his legs on the small coffee table in front of them.

He closed his eyes and hardly noticed when a hand slowly moved to his back. He jumped and grabbed Annabeth's hand, turning to look at her. "Not tonight. You need your rest."

Her grey eyes peered at him, as calculating as ever, as she thought of ways to make him do what she wanted him to, but she stopped and sighed. Annabeth wouldn't make Percy do what he didn't want to do and she knew it… But Percy did want to.

He twirled a finger around her blond hair and his eyelids drooped as he touched his nose with hers. "I love you, Annabeth," he whispered.

He felt Annabeth stiffen. He could feel the emotions rising within her and he wished he just kept his mouth shut. He knew this would be difficult; the two Gods—Poseidon and Athena—were _not_ friends, but their offspring was getting all touchy-feely. She knew that saying those three words would make a commitment, for the better, or for the worst.

"I love you, too, Percy," she said quickly. When no water came to drown her, or a trident to come and stab her, she smiled and repeated it, slower and quieter. "I love you, too… Percy…" She put a hand to his cheek and she leaned in, pressing his lips to hers gently.

He felt her breath brush against his cheek and it caused him to shiver. In response to his shiver, she pressed closer to him. He groaned into her mouth, continuing to kiss her and he could hear her breath hitch in her throat and he wrapped his hands around her waist, making her sit on his lap.

"Percy," she whispered on his lips and he let out a shagged breath.

"Yes?" he murmured, kissing her harder than before.

She laughed in his mouth and broke the kiss. "Nothing."

"Yes?" he repeated, his brain shut off at the moment and she laughed again, her hands stroking his cheeks.

"I was just saying your name, not asking a question," she said quietly.

"Hmmm," he groaned and lay on the bed. "This is too hard."

"Ah-hah," she laughed lightly. "It is."

He blinked and looked at her to see her face was scarlet, her lips parted and her fingers knotted at his shirt and he realized exactly what was happening. "Woah! Ah, okay, um." He quickly got up, pushing her off of his lap and he started to pant heavily. "Sorry, sorry." His face turned red in embarrassment at what just happened.

But Annabeth merely smiled. "Ever thought that I enjoy it?" she said softly.

He froze and watched her, his eyebrows furrowing. "Annabeth…" Once again, her already dark grey eyes darkened again. "We can't…"

"You're right, we can't. The condoms are in the glove box in the car." She shrugged. "Oh well." She walked into the bathroom without another word and he watched her longingly.

"I—" he began before she shut the door. She was obviously irritated at that and he looked down, groaning and throwing himself on the couch and putting a pillow over his lap. "Brilliant, Percy," he growled to himself, glaring at the coffee table as if it were the source of all his troubles. "Can't control yourself near Annabeth because she's beautiful…" He rubbed his forehead, but his thoughts were broken when he heard the bathroom door open.

"What's this?" She tossed a box and it hit Percy in the head. He jumped and looked at the box to see yet more condoms. But on one side was a sticky note.

_Please be safe, Percy. I want children, but not at your age! –Mom_

Percy froze and Annabeth grinned giddily. "Your mother is amazing," she said.

"Where did you find these…?"

"Under the bathroom counter. I was looking for spare toilet paper. Found it next to the box." She shrugged and sat next to him, putting a hand on the pillow and Percy was again painfully aware of what was brewing inside of him.

"Percy?" He looked at her and she held up a shard of glass. "Thanks again."

He stayed silent, but he quickly captured her lips with his again.


	4. UPDATE

WHOO! I did it. I recently had a review, saying they were sad that I did not include the sleeping scene. WELL. HERE YA GO. I was planning to do it, but never really got to it with work and everything. I hope all of you enjoy!

x.x~CLICK - fanfiction. net/s/7114638/1/Roller_Coaster -KCILC~x.x

(Remove the space between fanfiction. and net/...)

By the way, I posted it as a different story, so people who do not want to read it and continue with this Playing with Fire story can without any of the super Lemony stuff going on. I understand how it is to go into a Chapter, not expecting sex, really, and BAM. Penis is flying in your face (pun intended). So I purposefully made this story so it flowed without the scene. This is for the perverts out there (heh heh heh… fufufufufufu..). :P HAVE FUN, YOU GUYS~!


	5. Plate and Horns

Sorry it's taken me so long to update! Last week was the last week of school and it was exam, exam, exam, exam, exam, exam… Was killer. Now it's summer! And I have a job to get money and whooooo~

Anyway, believed it was time to make the plot thicken more! Also, I did not include a sex scene because… well, I don't know. I just didn't, lol. I felt the story just didn't need it. *shrug* Anyway, hope you enjoy and thanks SO MUCH for all the reviews! 3333

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The blaring of an alarm made Percy jump. He looked around wildly for the attacking alarm, but there was no one there and he relaxed as he realized it was his clock. He muttered something about paranoid to himself and turned it off. As he stretched, he realized there was something next to him. He blinked and looked down to see Annabeth fast asleep next to him and—of course—naked.

Images of the night before flooded into his brain and he lay back down, wrapping his arms around her.

"Mmmph," she whispered.

"Such words of wisdom," he teased.

"Shut up, kelpface," she muttered droggily as she raised her head.

Her blond hair was a complete mess that only made him chuckle to himself and she pursed her lips and glared at him something fierce. "Your hair doesn't look any better," she said crossly.

"Hey, hey, we had a good night. Why so mean this morning?"

"You're teasing me," she said indignantly.

"No, I'm not," he said, then caught her glaring eyes and caught himself. "Okay, okay, yes I am."

"Thank you," she said and she got up and out of the bed to scramble for her clothes. Percy watched her before uncomfortably looking away. Sure, they had a time last night, but that didn't mean he had to be a prude about her.

"Are you just going to sit there naked all day?"

Percy looked back at Annabeth to see her clothed and he got up, grabbing the blankets and pulling them with him.

"Oh my _Gods,_ Percy!" she snapped and grabbed the blankets, yanking them out of his grasp. "I saw you naked last night, stop being such a pansy."

"Hey, the only woman who has seen me naked is my mother. Why are _you_ so comfortable?"

"You're so cute," was all she said and she wrapped her arms around him, kissing him softly.

He gave into the kiss, pulling her closer to him and kissing her back before pulling away and stepping back a bit. "Dressing time," he muttered and he grabbed some jeans when a knock came at the door.

Both of them froze. "Who is up this early in the morning?" Percy asked, his eyes flickering to Annabeth as he quickly put his jeans on and buckled the belt. He grabbed a shirt and hurried for the door, opening it as he pulled the shirt over his head.

"Hello, Mr. Jackson," a voice said. It was a low voice, and gruff. Percy looked around, but saw nothing. "Down here!" he voice snarled. Percy looked down to see a midget—small person standing there, looking up at him with beady black eyes.

"Uhhh…" Percy said, blinking. It had been a while since Percy had really encountered another odd being and he was kind of at a loss for words.

"Look, Kid, let me in." The midget moved to go into the apartment when Percy slammed the door in his face and walked back to Annabeth.

"It's some Gnome."

"Robbie!" Annabeth exclaimed and ran for the door.

"Damn kids, don't know what the hell they're doing—" The Gnome was cut off as Annabeth swept him up in a hug. "Let me down, you fiend! I hate that!"

"What the crap is going on?" Percy inquired, looking at them.

Annabeth was just smiling. "This is Robbie. He knows a lot about mythological creatures. I called him here because of the car accident last night."

Percy's eyebrows furrowed. "How would he know what it was?"

"He went to the car last night. He studied the marks—"

"I can talk for myself, missy!" the Gnome snapped as Annabeth put him down. He growled at her and walked—or waddled—to the coffee table and put papers on it. "It was a minotaur. By the brute markings, it was something large, strong, and obviously, with horns." He took out the pictures and there were punctures in the car, as if a pair of horns charged into it. "Now, why you have a minotaur attacking you, I don't know."

"Obviously it was a minotaur. Why do we need him, Annabeth?"

The Gnome looked up at Percy irritably, his hooked nose giving Percy the creeps. "It's not _your average minotaur_. It's a war bull, specially designed to kill the opposing team. These are very dangerous, and this specific beast is a higher war bull. The indentations on the car shows he was wearing plate armor and this gash here shows he had an axe—a very, very large axe. This ain't you average bull, Kid."

Percy shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Yay, more quests," he muttered. He sat on the couch, looking at the images.

"Percy, we're not going to go out and look for it. I just wanted to know what it was… Robbie, what's a way to kill it?"

"Got to stab it with its own horn. Nasty stuff, minotaur horn. Harder than steel and smoother than glass. I believe it's the only thing that can pierce that armor of his."

Annabeth nodded. "I know who you're talking about now. He was the minotaur who lived in the Labyrinth created by Daedalus. Every nine years, seven men and seven women were sent into the Labyrinth by the Athens to be eaten by the creature."

Percy's eyes darkened. "That sounds… horrible."

Annabeth nodded. "How he escaped…" She shook her head and rubbed her arms. "Right. Thanks, Robbie." She reached into her pocket, but the Gnome stopped her.

"It's fine, Kid. I like you. No charge, kay?" He smiled at Annabeth, but it was impossible to feel warm with that ugly face connected to it.

Annabeth smiled and bent down. "See ya, Rob."

He nodded and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.

"That was weird."

"You're so rude," she snapped. "He's very respectable. Everyone knows him."

Percy raised a hand. "Obviously I didn't."

She glared at him and left the room to go into the bathroom and he sighed, lying back.

If there was truly a super-large-horrifying-killer-minotaur out there, and they were after Percy and Annabeth, something bigger was behind it. Something was trying to kill them.

And they were going to find out who.


End file.
